Baka-Taicho
by Durbe the Barian
Summary: Most thought Toshiro was being rude when he called Isshin "Baka-Taicho." But in actuality, it was the only way he knew how to show that he cared. - Black font is Toshiro's POV.


**Bleach**

**Baka-Taicho**

**Angst/Family**

**Toshiro, Isshin**

**Most thought Toshiro was being rude when he called Isshin "Baka-Taicho." But in actuality, it was the only way he knew how to show that he cared. - Black font is Toshiro's POV.**

**(Don't own Bleach.)**

* * *

Baka-Taicho

* * *

"H-Hey! Hitsugaya-kun? Hitsugaya-kun, what's the matter?"

When Toshiro first met his future Captain, he found it was almost impossible to breathe. His Spiritual Pressure was like a flame licking at his icy soul, smothering and melting him as he tried to reach for air. He fell to the ground at the Academy, his lungs tightening up as he fought to remain conscious.

"What's the matter with your friend?" a voice asked.

"We don't know."

"Maybe he's sick!?"

He wasn't sick.

He was suffocating.

"His Spiritual Pressure," Toshiro thought, jet black dots painting his vision. "I can't...I can't breathe!"

Just then, a heavy hand touched his shoulder and the suffocating feeling exploded, vanishing completely in an instant.

"Hey, kid."

Slowly, he raised his throbbing head and looked up.

The Captain that had come to the school that day was looking down at him, almost as if in apology. "Sorry, kid," he said. "Guess I was so strong, you couldn't get back up when I walked past."

Toshiro gave no response to the Captain's words, only accepted his help when offered. Then he simply watched as the Captain left, his back facing the class.

The back of a Captain.

That was forever imprinted in Toshiro's mind.

"What kind of Captain is he?" Toshiro found himself thinking. "He almost sounded like he was bragging before he helped me. And his Spiritual Pressure." He pressed his hand against his head. "So that was the Spiritual Pressure of a Captain. And I thought that lady from the sweets shop had a ton of Spiritual Pressure. He must have been holding back a lot to wonder why I collapsed."

"That's the Shiba clan for you," a student said, walking past the stunned Toshiro. "Always talking like a bunch of fools."

"Yeah," another student said. "But they're not bragging. They used to be one of the Noble Clans, remember?"

"Yeah. But they fell, right?"

Toshiro was just barely able to hear the name of the clan.

Shiba.

Odd.

Odd clan. No doubt about that.

* * *

A year after that incident, Toshiro found himself walking through the halls of Squad Ten; his chosen squad. He remembered that his teachers found it odd that he picked a squad that didn't even know him, but the fact was he wanted that.

People who didn't know about his powers, his talents, or his icy Spiritual Pressure.

People who didn't look at him and think him to be a monster.

A place where he could start fresh.

That was what Squad Ten was to him.

A clean slate.

Nerves were his biggest issue as he walked into the barracks. His stomach was full of Hell Butterflies, his hands sweating like mad. The entire place felt foreign to him. Too foreign. Almost to the point where he felt terribly ill.

"Don't worry too much," the Shinigami leading him to the Captain's Meeting Room said. "You'll get used to the atmosphere eventually."

"I'm not worrying," Toshiro said.

And he wasn't lying. He wasn't worrying. Not about the atmosphere of the squad, anyway.

What he was worrying about was how the people in the squad would treat him.

He was a faceless Shinigami.

An unknown power that had gained an officer's seat upon entry. The lowest seat, to be sure, as he lacked a Shikai, but it was still a seat.

That was all they needed to know.

What had he done, he knew they wondered, to deserve the rare honor of making a squad and nailing a seat upon entry?

An unknown entity.

That was Toshiro Hitsugaya.

* * *

He entered the room with a knot in his throat, looking around with a curious eye.

"Um, excuse me," he called out. "Is anyone in here? I am Toshiro Hitsugaya, Squad Ten, 20th seat. I'm looking for Captain Isshin."

When a set of doors slid open, he was hoping that the Captain had heard him and showed up to lighten the mood, as so many had stated he'd do.

He was wrong.

The person he was looking at was a tall woman with strawberry blonde hair. Definitely not the Captain, who was specified to be male.

"Welcome to Squad Ten, the best of all the Squads in the Soul Society!"

Toshiro had the sudden urge to slap his face in disbelief. Instead, however, another urge prevailed and he pointed at the woman with shock painting his face.

"I-It's you!" he exclaimed. "The lady from the sweets shop!"

The woman stared at him for a second or two. Then she gasped. "Oh!" went she. "You were the kid that I met in Junrinan a year ago. What are you doing here?" Then she looked him over really quick. "Hang on," she continued. "You're not hear to join the Squad, are you?"

"I was," Toshiro sighed. "Now I'm wondering if I shouldn't transfer."

"Hey!" the woman shouted. "What's that supposed to mean?!" She then started pulling on his cheeks, much to his discomfort. "You're not saying you don't want to work with us, right?"

"Oh, leave him alone, Rangiku," another voice said. "He's new and you're scaring him."

Another person then entered the room, this time, through the door that Toshiro had used to enter. A man with short black hair, sideburns, and a goofy look on his face. His zanpakuto rested on his belt, meaning he had just come back from a mission or something, but Toshiro paid close to no attention to that.

He was looking at the haori resting on the man's back.

"Hi, kid," the man said. "I'm Captain Isshin Shiba. Though most people feel better calling me Captain or Stupid or Captain Isshin or just plain Isshin or even Moron."

For the second time that day, Toshiro found himself aghast. "It's you!" he shouted. "The captain from a year ago!"

"Hmm?" went Isshin, looking the boy over. "Hang on..."

Toshiro braced himself.

"Nope. Don't recognize you."

Toshiro stared, sighing in relief.

"Just kidding! I know you! You're the prodigy I met at the Academy. Almost suffocated you with my Spiritual Pressure, if I remember correctly."

Toshiro sighed. "Yes, that was me," he said, giving a polite bow. "20th Seat, Toshiro Hitsugaya. Pleased to meet you, Sir."

"Hmm," went Isshin happily. "Well then. Welcome to Squad Ten, Toshiro! We hope you enjoy it."

* * *

**I wasn't sure if 'enjoying it' would suit the way I felt about working in the Squads. I didn't join because of some sense of duty or justice. The only reason I had chosen to enter the Academy in the first place was so I could learn how to control my Spiritual Pressure. The Squads had nothing to do with my decision. I only wanted a place to belong. The people in Junrinan feared me, making it less of a home than anything else. **

**So I joined the Squads. **

**And I entered Squad Ten.**

* * *

"Toshiro," Rangiku called out. "Can you handle this paperwork? I've got to go handle some stuff at the sweet shop in Junrinan."

Toshiro simply took the papers from his Lieutenant's waiting hands. "This isn't my place," he said, "but shouldn't you be doing it instead of passing off to a seated officer?"

"Maybe," Rangiku said. "But in this Squad, that's how it works. Besides, I actually have to handle important stuff at the sweet shop."

"Yelling at more unsuspecting kids and shop owners?" Toshiro asked coldly.

"No, not that," Rangiku "I have to go and get the Captain's rear out of that sweet shop and into his Captain's seat."

"So he's as lazy as you are?" Toshiro sighed.

Before he had time to properly prepare himself, Toshiro found himself as the victim of Rangiku's cheek pulling attack. Fortunately, she had done it so often – at least once every other day since he joined – that he had finally begun to adapt.

"Rangiku," a voice huffed. "Can't you leave the kid alone for a day? His cheeks are gonna get bent out of shape if you keep doing that."

Both seated officer and Lieutenant looked over to the doorway. Isshin was waving his hand in the air, a grin on his face, a colored cloth in his hand.

"There you are!" Rangiku shouted. "What have you been doing!? You have paperwork to do, remember!?"

"I know, I know," Isshin chuckled. "But I just had something to do in Junrinan and before I knew it, I had a hankering for some sweets."

"What kind of sweets?" Rangiku asked with a huff.

"Knowing the Captain, manju buns," Toshiro mumbled.

"How rude," Isshin said. "It just so happens to be amanatto."

Toshiro tensed up at the mention of his favorite sweet.

"I was talking with an old lady and she just gave me the whole thing," Isshin said. "Told me to save some for my favorite squad members."

"What?" went Rangiku. "She just gave them to you?"

"Yeah," Isshin said with a nod. "Cool, huh?"

With that, he set the desert down on Rangiku's desk and undid the knot.

Then Toshiro looked as carefully as he could without looking like a fool.

Yep. They were amanatto alright.

"So, let's dig in," Isshin said with a smile.

"Now you're talking," Rangiku said happily, reaching forward to take one of the beans.

"Hey, Toshiro, do you want some?" Isshin asked, pulling the sweets away from Rangiku with speed that would make Stealth Force members pale in shame.

"Me?" Toshiro couldn't help but stammer.

"Yeah," Isshin said. "You love this stuff, don't you?"

"H-How would you know something like that?"

"Because the old lady I talked to called herself, 'Toshiro's Granny.'"

Toshiro froze up.

"My...grandmother?" Toshiro asked.

"Yep."

Toshiro looked down a little bit. "Was she...doing okay?"

Isshin paused, then grinned and ruffled Toshiro's hair. "She was doing perfectly fine," he said. "In fact, she was asking how you were doing, which was what brought us into a very long talk, which is the reason I was so late in coming back."

Toshiro then allowed a small smile to form on his face. "That's good," he said softly.

Isshin completely froze up.

"Huh? What's the matter?"

In a split second, Toshiro was finding himself suffocated by his Captain's gorilla-like grip. "You have finally grinned!" Isshin shouted. "This calls for a celebration!"

"What the-!? Let me go, Captain!" Toshiro shouted.

"No way!" Isshin responded. "I'm going to hug you and hug you like a father should!"

"Let me go, Baka-Taicho!"

Isshin let go alright after that.

Toshiro's numb rear end was able to tell him that quite well.

"Did you just call me...," Isshin began, "Baka-Taicho?"

Toshiro felt the room's temperature rise. His face went warm and he fought the urge to cover his mouth and run away. "What did I just say!?" he thought to himself. "Baka-Taicho!? Where in the Soul Society did THAT come from!?"

"Toshiro," Isshin growled.

Toshiro's goose was utterly cooked. He could tell.

"I'm so proud of you!" Isshin declared, wrapping his arm around his young seated officer.

"EH!?" Toshiro mentally exclaimed.

"Rangiku!" Isshin shouted, pointing to his Lieutenant. "Add that to my list of nicknames, stat!"

"Yes, Captain," Rangiku said, fleeing the scene with a few of the amanatto.

"So you're...not mad?" Toshiro asked uneasily.

"Mad? Why should I be mad?" Isshin asked in reply.

"I just insulted him and he's happy?" Toshiro thought to himself. "What kind of Squad Captain is he?"

* * *

**He was different from the other Captains. That much was blatantly obvious. Where most captains would have punished their subordinates for insulting them in such a manner – or at least scolded them for their behavior – Captain Shiba simply laughed and said that I was an official member of the squad if I could come up with something so creative. **

**I never understood my Captain's unusual actions, but I never questioned them either. He was a good Captain, and everybody in the Squad looked up to him for that.**

**And before I knew it, so did I.**

* * *

Toshiro desperately fought to force himself back onto his feet. The attack of a Menos was certainly not one to be underestimated, but Toshiro didn't know just how powerful one could actually be until he had taken only a small amount of their Cero. His entire left sleeve had been burned off, as well as part of his left pants leg. Blood was pouring from his right temple, an injury which came as a result of a Menos' hand gently brushing across his face.

"Toshiro! Are you alright!?"

The young Shinigami lifted his head to face his Captain, standing in the air of the World of the Living. His eyes were locked on the Menos, making his call all the more intimidating. "Toshiro, answer me!" Isshin said, refusing to look away from his opponent.

"Y-Yes, Captain," Toshiro responded, placing his hand on his injured temple. "I'm okay!"

But he wouldn't be for long. Not if the Menos had anything to say about it.

Its mouth opened up and it prepared to launch a Cero at the white-haired Shinigami.

Toshiro's eyes widened in horror as he realized what that meant.

He was about to die.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Isshin shouted, splitting the Cero in half as it left the Hollow's mouth.

So instead of hitting Toshiro, it hit the two buildings on either side of him, obliterating them from existence. "Okay," Isshin continued, "now you've made me angry."

He looked back to the icy Squad Ten member before sighing. "Sorry, Toshiro. This might hurt you a bit."

"What are you...talking about, Captain?"

Isshin gave no answer. Rather, he looked back to the Menos and held his sword before his chest.

"Bankai."

Toshiro could only watch in awe as everything followed that word.

* * *

**My Captain's Bankai. I have never before, nor ever will see again, the power that radiated off of my Captain that day. Its name has been forever etched into my memory. I couldn't forget it even if I wanted to.**

**His power was dependent on his physical condition, however, as I learned only after the Menos had been defeated.**

* * *

"Captain! Captain!"

Isshin looked his Squad Member in the eye. The young Toshiro was using healing Kido on his beaten body, doing his best to heal his Captain. A heavy sweat was pouring down his face, a result from being near Isshin's Bankai. Fire and Ice never did mix well, after all. "Captain! Are you okay? You just fainted after using your Bankai."

"Heh," went Isshin. "Yeah. I'm fine. I was just too tired when I used my Bankai and it wore me out."

"What?"

"That's my Bankai's drawback," Isshin said. "We've all got one. Don't ever forget that, Toshiro." He then gave a grin. "So, how are you feeling, Toshiro? Have you treated your wounds yet?"

Toshiro shook his head.

"Then stop healing me, you idiot!" Isshin grouched. "Heal yourself first. You're the one who's hurt! I'm just beat!"

"Well, at least I didn't faint!" Toshiro snapped. "Stop trying to act like a hero, Baka-Taicho!"

"T-Toshiro," Isshin breathed.

"Besides," Toshiro continued, a little more softly that time, "I can't just heal myself while there's someone else hurt in front of me. So don't order me to do what I simply can't do, Captain."

Isshin paused. Then he chuckled and touched Toshiro's head.

"You're stubborn, you know that?" he asked.

"I have to," Toshiro snapped back, "because I have such an idiot for a Captain."

Isshin couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah. I'm an idiot alright."

Toshiro paused.

"Baka-Taicho."

* * *

**Captain Shiba was one of the laziest captains to ever don a haori. Nobody in all the Court Guard Squads could deny that. But at the same time, he was one of the strongest. People joined Squad Ten just so they could work under him. He had the respect of everybody in his squad and many people in other squads. Everybody looked up to him. Even those who weren't in the Squads learned from him – when he wasn't being a total idiot, anyway.**

* * *

"Good~ Morning~ Toshiro~!"

Toshiro jumped out of his bed before his captain was able to bury his head in his wall.

"Captain Shiba!" Toshiro shouted. "What were you thinking!?"

It took Isshin a minute of pushing, pulling, and careful movement to pull his head out of the broken wall. "I just wanted to see how you would have reacted if I woke you up like that," he said.

"Captain Shiba," Toshiro huffed, "what if I hadn't moved in time?"

"Hmm," went Isshin. "In that case, I think you would have had to go to Squad 4 for treatment."

"Baka-Taicho!"

* * *

"Captain, here's your paperwork," Toshiro said, setting a pile of work on Isshin's desk.

Unfortunately, he didn't respond immediately.

"Captain?" Toshiro questioned, walking over to his Captain's chair.

Then he proceeded to shake his shoulders good and hard. "Captain, you're not supposed to be sleeping on the job. You have to get up and do some work."

"Kukaku, put that thing down," Isshin suddenly began to mutter. "You know you're not supposed to hold sharp objects."

"Eh?" went Toshiro.

Kukaku was a full grown – and rather scary – woman in Junrinan. Which time period was Isshin dreaming about?

"Captain, get up," Toshiro huffed. "You're only weirding me out."

Isshin didn't respond to that with anything less than a heavy sigh.

In an instant, Toshiro felt dizzy and stepped back, clapping his hand over his nose. "Captain Shiba," he groaned, "how much alcohol did you have last night?"

"Ganju, you little monkey," Isshin continued, "give me a big hug."

Toshiro sighed. "You're gonna be like this for a while, aren't you?"

Knowing that it was going to be a yes even without Isshin giving a direct answer, Toshiro pulled a blanket out from under the desk – something that Isshin had placed there for situations like this – and placed it on his back. "Baka-Taicho," Toshiro then muttered. "You're in for a beaut of a hangover when you get up."

"Yeah," Isshin said, a light smile forming on his face. "That's how you swing your sword, Toshiro. Now you're getting better."

There, Toshiro felt his face warm up. He knew what he was dreaming about there.

His Shikai training.

The training that allowed him to advance in rank until he finally reached Third Seat.

The training that Isshin had been more than willing to help give him.

He wanted to thank Isshin for his drunken words, even if he wasn't awake to hear him do so, but instead, Toshiro scoffed and folded his arms. "Baka-Taicho."

* * *

**Admiration.**

**I think that's the word to describe how I felt after working in Squad Ten and with Captain Shiba for a while. He was stupid and lazy, but he still had the heart to pull his Squad through any troubles. **

**I guess...I admired him for that.**

**Momo once said that she wanted to work hard to become Captain Aizen's Lieutenant. I didn't pay too much attention to her at the time though. I was still a kid and the watermelon in my hand was more important to me than Shinigami Captains.**

**I think after a while, I started thinking pretty much the same thing. But not the Lieutenant thing. That position had been filled. No way could I get it, no matter how hard I worked.**

* * *

"Me? A Captain?"

"Yeah, Toshiro," Isshin said. "You have the skill to make Bankai. Work on it, polish it, master it, and who knows. You'll probably be the youngest Captain in the Soul Society."

"And where would you put me?" Toshiro asked. "The Squads all have Captains."

"Hey," went Isshin. "You don't know what'll happen in the next 20 years, Toshiro. Something might happen and a position'll probably open. So how about you try to work on it, okay?"

Toshiro thought about it, then turned and folded his arms. "Do you do this little pep talk with all your men?" he asked.

* * *

**Bankai.**

**The sign that you're eligible for the Captain's seat. **

**The crown jewel of your assigned Squad. It tells the enemies how much power you and your Squad possess. **

**And my Captain was telling me, a Third Seat no less, that I could somehow achieve Hyourinmaru's Bankai.**

**The thought made my heart race.**

**I wanted to get Bankai.**

**And I wanted to fight on equal standards with the man who taught me how to handle my own strength.**

**That was my dream.**

**Until that day.**

* * *

Toshiro walked into his Captain's empty room.

A month.

That was how long his Captain had been gone.

A whole month without a response of any kind.

The Soul Society had declared him dead as a result.

Such a thought only made Squad Ten feel dead.

With a heavy heart, Toshiro packed up his Captain's things. With Isshin gone, the room must be emptied for the next Captain.

That was the rule.

But it didn't make Toshiro happy.

"He didn't leave anything behind," he thought to himself, folding away his Captain's pajamas.

Pajamas he had left haphazardly on the floor.

"Of course he didn't," Toshiro continued. "He was only going to thank somebody. He said he'd be back before I finished my nap."

He reached for his Captain's quilted futon, then paused.

"Was I wrong?" Toshiro thought. "Was I wrong in not informing the Head Captain where Captain Shiba was going? Was I wrong in keeping it a secret?"

With a sigh, he stood up straight and fell against the wall. Then he proceeded to slide down to the bottom, finding himself in a sitting position.

His fingers raced through his silky white hair as he tried to make sense of the unbearably empty room.

It didn't even smell like sake anymore.

"You promised," Toshiro said under his breath. "You promised you would help me with my Bankai training." He pulled into himself, his head resting on his knees.

"Baka-Taicho."

* * *

**My Captain was gone.**

**The one who made it so I could advance had left the Squad to fend for itself.**

**Because his seat was empty, we were to have a new Captain.**

**But I remembered what Captain Shiba had wanted.**

**It was something I had to let happen.**

* * *

Toshiro bowed before all the other Captains, waiting for a response from them.

It was true that his request was a tad unusual, but what could he possibly say? It was his Captain's idea after all.

That, should anything happen to Captain Shiba, Toshiro would be the next Captain.

Toshiro hadn't verbally accepted it, but that appeared to make little difference. Isshin even let the whole Squad know who would be his successor.

So Toshiro could do little more than respect the wishes of his Captain.

Wishes he too wanted to see come to pass.

"Very well," the Head Captain said after a while of thought.

Toshiro raised his head and looked to the Captains, stunned at the words that reached his ears.

"If Captain Shiba had desired it, then I shall wait," Yamamoto continued. "However, your Squad cannot remain without a Captain for too long. You have until the end of this year to complete your Bankai, Toshiro Hitsugaya. If you do not, I shall be forced to find another Captain to take Captain Shiba's place."

Toshiro couldn't help but smile as he pulled himself into a bow again. "Thank you, Head Captain," he said.

"Heh," went Zaraki. "You mean to tell me you want this kid to try and become Captain? I thought this was an adult matter."

Toshiro clenched his fists, but offered no retort.

It was true. He was still a child.

But not for long.

He was going to wear the Squad Ten haori.

No doubt about that.

* * *

**I worked.**

**I trained every day like it was my last. It was hard with Rangiku being the pain she was, but I was fortunate to get through. **

**Then I finally achieved my goal.**

**Bankai.**

**Daiguren Hyourinmaru.**

**It was completed. **

**Underdeveloped, but completed just the same. And I had control over it. **

**Perfect control, given its development.**

**I took the test on my birthday.**

**And I did pass.**

* * *

Toshiro looked at the haori that had now been placed on his shoulders. Like his Captain's before him, he opted for a sleeveless haori, but mostly because he found it more comfortable than an extra layer of cloth on his arm.

"Henceforth, Toshiro Hitsugaya," Yamamoto declared, "is hereby Captain of Squad Ten!"

The cheers of the Squad reached the podium in an instant.

As they did so, however, Toshiro looked around.

Nowhere.

His Captain wasn't anywhere in sight. Not surprising. He was reported dead, after all. Why should he be upset that a ghost couldn't attend?

But still, he was. Very upset. "You promised," Toshiro thought. "But I guess you couldn't make it." He narrowed his eyes. "Bakai-Taicho."

* * *

**It was on that day, in mid-January, that I became the Captain of Squad Ten. I could only hope...that I had made the former Captain proud.**

**Even if he wasn't there to see it.**

* * *

(Arrancar arc)

"Would you like to join me, Captain?" Rangiku asked.

"No," Toshiro responded.

"Come on. It'll be fun."

"For you, maybe."

Just then, he felt a strange, yet familiar Spiritual Pressure. He jerked his head back to the clinic and looked around.

Nothing. Only Ichigo and Rukia waving Renji off.

"How stupid," Toshiro thought. "Even now, I can still feel that suffocating Spiritual Pressure."

"Captain," Rangiku said, "is something the matter?"

"No," Toshiro responded. "I just thought I felt the pressure of an idiot Captain."

"Hmmm," went Rangiku, looking around. "Well, I didn't feel anything."

"It was just my imagination," Toshiro sighed. "Now leave it at that."

"Yes, sir."

Little did he realize, however, that it wasn't imagination at work.

From the window of the master bedroom above the clinic, a certain someone was looking down at the Shinigami Captain, a stupid grin still on his face.

* * *

**D.T.B: Oneshot ended. Please review. :) Hopefully, this thing made sense.**


End file.
